What books to buy this Christmas

Merseyside books to fill your stockings

By HARRY HUGHES

The world of Liverpool literature is always guaranteed to be an engaging read for the citizens of Merseyside. As Christmas looms on the horizon and with jingle bells ringing ever closer in the distance, now is the time to decide what gifts to get for your lucky loved ones. Your nearest and dearest will no doubt love spending the winter months delving into these page-turners.

Amazon’s 2021 Best Sellers

1. American Marxism, Mark R. Levin This new book sees the American talk radio host deconstruct modern Marxism and progressivism within the United States.

2. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits &

Break Bad Ones, James Clear For those who have been left with a severe lack of motivation during the pandemic, this self-help book is must-read.

3. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A

Toltec Wisdom Book), Don Miguel Ruiz Based on ancient Mexican Toltec beliefs, Ruiz reveals the secrets to living a spiritual life within the modern world.

4. If Animals Kissed Goodnight, Ann Whitford Paul This instalment in Paul’s ‘If Animals’ series is a cute storybook for the little ones.

5. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of

Trauma, Bessel Van Der Kolk M.D. This deep dive into the psychological effects of trauma is a harrowing and thorough analysis.

1. A Taste of the Liverpool Way, Mona Nemmer

When LFC’s head of nutrition isn’t keeping track of the squad’s eating habits, she’s telling all of us the club’s nutritional secrets. In her first book, Mona Nemmer goes into how she makes sure that Liverpool’s players are eating the right things at the right time. With anecdotes, recipes and illustrations, readers can explore the healthy, delicious and affordable meals that fuel the stars of Anfield. For those looking to avoid binging on chocolates and Christmas dinner leftovers over the holidays, here’s your alternative!

2. Ghost Town: A Liverpool Shadowplay, Jeff Young

This award-winning memoir is a vividly fantastical look back at the Liverpool of decades past. More than just a standard autobiography, writer Jeff Young revisits the Liverpool of his youth, when its streets were lined with magnificent buildings and filled with eccentrically endearing characters. For those wishing to be whisked away to a familiar yet uniquely dream-like version of Liverpool, this is the book for you.

3. My Mummy is a Monster, Natalie Reeves Billing

Merseyside author Natalie Reeves Billing released numerous children’s books throughout the pandemic. As well as writing, Natalie spends her time supporting children around the world through her social enterprise, Split Perspectivez, which aims to teach kids about the importance and fun of storytelling. This instalment of her ‘Monstrous Me’ series would be a great gift for the little ones over the holidays. When something inevitably goes wrong cooking the Christmas dinner and you’re on the verge of a breakdown, you may find your youngsters relating to the characters in this story-

Mersey News Live Favourites...

Before & Laughter, Jimmy Carr

Breaking from your typical celeb auto-biography, the comedian delivers a light-hearted selfhelp book. The Lyrics, Paul McCartney

Compiling songs dating from 1956 to present-day, the Liverpool superstar looks back on some of the most famous and imaginative lyrics of his career. My Body, Emily Ratajkowski

In this revealing and honest memoir, the supermodel criticises the culture in which she rose to fame.